Nigerian Court Grants Bail To Sharia Court Judges, Cashier, 16 Others Accused Of N580.2Million Theft

Two Sharia Court judges, a cashier and 16 other financial registrars accused of stealing the sum of N580.2 million were on Wednesday admitted to bail by a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Kano, Kano State capital.

SaharaReporters had reported that the accused persons were charged before the Magistrates’ Court on five counts of criminal conspiracy, joint act, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, theft and forgery.

The accused persons include Sani Muhammad, Sani Buba-Aliyu, Bashir Baffa, Garzali Wada, Hadi Tijjani Mu’azu, Alkasim Abdullahi, Yusuf Abdullahi, Mustapha Bala Ibrahim, Jafar Ahmad, Adamu Balarabe, Aminu Abdulkadir, Abdullahi Zango and Garba Yusuf.

Others are Hussaina Imam, Bashir Kurawa, Saadatu Umar, Tijjani Abdullahi, Maryam Garba and Shamsu Sani.

The prosecution counsel, Zahraddeen Kofar-Mata, had told the court that from 2018 to 2021, the two Sharia Court judges criminally conspired with 12 others and created 15 fake civil servants’ death benefit files and fraudulently siphoned the sum of N96.2 million.

The prosecutor said, “The alleged N96.2 million was remitted by the Kano State Pension Fund Trustee to the bank accounts of Kano State Sharia Court Appeal.”

Kofar-Mata further alleged that between 2020 and 2021, Hussaina used her position as a cashier at the State Sharia Court of Appeal, conspired with four others and forged letterheads of the Sharia Court of Appeal.

He said, “The defendants forged the signatures of the two signatories to the Stanbic IBTC bank account 0020667440 belonging to the Kano State Sharia Court of Appeal and stole N484 million,” and also alleged that the defendants fraudulently authorised the bank to transfer the amount to various bank accounts without the consent of the authorised persons.

The police said the defendants stole the money through eight Sharia Courts under the Kano State Sharia Court Appeal without the consent of the authorizing authority, saying that the offence contravened the provisions of sections 97, 79, 315, 287 and 363 of the Penal Code.

However, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the crime.

The Chief Magistrate, Mustapha Sa’ad-Datti, in his ruling on Wednesday admitted the two judges and 12 others to N1 million bail each and two reliable sureties in like sum, with the condition that one of the sureties must deposit the sum of N200,000 as security, while the second surety must provide a landed property with a title document worth N10 million in Kano.

The Chief Magistrate also admitted the cashier and four others to bail in the sum of N10 million each and two reliable sureties in like sum, with a condition that one of the sureties must present an affidavit that the defendant will not jump bail and deposit N5 million as security.

Vanguard quoted Sa’ad-Datti as saying that the “second surety must have a landed property worth N200 million with certificate in Kano,” while he urged the prosecution to provide all the necessary documents concerning the matter to the defence counsel.

Sa’ad-Datti thereafter adjourned the matter until February 14, 2023 for a hearing.